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Roku is exploring ways to show consumers ads on its TVs even when they are not using its streaming platform: The company has been looking into injecting ads into the video feeds of third-party devices connected to its TVs, according to a recent patent filing.
This way, when an owner of a Roku TV takes a short break from playing a game on their Xbox, or streaming something on an Apple TV device connected to the TV set, Roku would use that break to show ads. Roku engineers have even explored ways to figure out what the consumer is doing with their TV-connected device in order to display relevant advertising.
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Late Stage Capitalism: Using a microscopic laser, we are able to burn our advertiser logos directly into our customer’s retinas, so they will see them even as they sleep.
Shareholders: 👏 👏 👏
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That is definitely way too invasive. Plugging something on to a Roku TV shouldn’t enable them to show you ads through that other device.
I was actually thinking about getting a Roku once too. Really dodged a bullet.
The article says Roku is attempting to detect breaks, which are the only places Roku will try to show you an ad. So you open your inventory in the pause screen to fight a boss and an ad pops out.
I wonder if they’re prepared for Microsoft’s lawyers to come knocking when they find out their screen space is being highjacked by another company for profit…
Sounds like popcorn hour to me.
It slowly dawned on video game developers that a lengthy loading screen was actually just a wasted opportunity for a digital billboard.
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It’s not as bad as Dhark thinks, but still pretty bad. Read my last sentence and fully immerse yourself.
It’s absolutely insanely horrible and probably some of the most invasive drm I have ever seen even proposed.
This would require doing deep analysis on all of the content going through the stream. That analysis sure as hell isn’t being done locally since smart TV’s can barely run their own operating systems, so everything getting offloaded to Roku servers and then they get to put ads on whatever they determine to be an appropriate time.
This technology enables censoring and blacking out signals that Roku decides you don’t get to see, or preventing the release of the hijacked stream unless you perform certain actions, or just not releasing the stream at all unless you pay, effectively extorting you.
These cheap smart TVs already give you the worst panels and the worst processors. And now get to be extorted out of your own data being delivered the ten feet from your computer or PlayStation to the TV.
It’s beyond ridiculous.
Dark souls players in shambles.
Uhhhg
Someone tell me there’s an OSS Roku like system out there >_>
I mean, there are open-source systems to provide TV-style functionality. I’m not really current, but it looks like Kodi is an option.
Well, I wonder if this can be like RaspberryPied or something to make it a set top box…
Well, at the bottom of their front page, it has a list of things that it can run on and lists the Raspberry Pi on that list, so I’d imagine so.
Well, that would be a way to guarantee I buy a new TV…
Any company trying to use the HDMI-CEC protocol in such a subversive manner should lose their license to the HDMI standard IMO.
The bastards that control the hdmi standard: yeah!
Roku: 💰
Bastards: actually no
Collectivism: 💰💰 Fuck Roku.
It’s not like they ever properly implemented it in the first place.
I’m mad that they did their broken implementation of sending control codes between devices that never works. I have to disable it on everything so that the correct input gets set.
And then they are killing the universal remote industry so there is nothing to replace it with.
You know HDMI is not some big secret they can use it without the license and ship from overseas like 90% of shit shipped from China.
That only works if you’re headquartered in China.
Not that the HDMI Fourm will stop them, anyway. More likely, the companies involved will want to license Roku’s patent.
For cheap gizmos I can see a chinese seller getting away with it (rebranding under another weird name like AWOYO or something, in a sea of identical devices under different brand names), but not a large business like Roku.
Funnily enough, Flipper did exactly that and the Zero is still doing fine. It’s a loophole, but it does seem to be working fine-ish.
HDMI Forum have instead resorted to taking GPU manufacturers hostage because they don’t want any specs leaking, that’s why AMD were denied being allowed to support latest HDMI in their free Linux drivers.
The HDMI forum is run by big companies so that is not happening, sorry
Death to HDMI. DisplayPort is the superior port.
I’m sure that a DisplayPort device in a chain can also inject video, but I have to admit that I would kind of like to not have two competing video standards, and my impression is that DisplayPort tends to lead HDMI technically, so…
DisplayPort: We have
- Higher maximum resolution.
- Better support for higher refresh rates.
- Multi-stream transport so you can use a single display cable for multiple monitors.
HDMI: Oh yeah? Well, we have
- Royalties.
- Specifications hidden behind contracts.
- An emphasis on implementing DRM technology that makes it hard to use a capture card.
Fuck HDMI.
Oh and HDMI prevents open source GPU drivers supporting HDMI 2.1 natively.
That was covered under “Specifications hidden behind contracts”
An emphasis on implementing DRM technology that makes it hard to use a capture card.
Well, DP supports HDCP too.
The shittiest of enshitifications.
Roku has always been a shitty company that wants to monetize everything. People are finally waking up. How many of us have a Roku remote that advertises a useless or bankrupt streaming service?
I know I’m old, but I miss having numbers on my remote.
Now I have a “sling” and a “crackle” button. 🙁
Yeah, I do miss being able to quickly type a code to jump to a known broadcaster. Opening up a menu is slower than jumping direct to said thing.
The Roku buttons solves that a little bit, but there is only 4, you can’t change them, and they prioritize featuring whoever pays up.
We need an anti-awards show for shit like this.
I like that. If there was a site that did like The Razzies for movies but for technology enshitification, I would definitely watch, and probably follow a blog if it was done well
Youre in luck!
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://www.piped.video/watch?v=NXhmnQzZ7n8
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
The plungies. Winners receive golden plungers
Plungers wrapped in cheap tinfoil, don’t want to give them anything they can melt down and sell
Roku, somehow becoming shittier than Twitter
Roku still gives me a lot more valuable content
Our TV can fortunately bypass all the “smart” shit, and run like dumb monitor, maybe because it’s an older TV? We use it with an external computer with Linux mediacenter, where we have full control and no adds.
Would it even be possible to run a new “smart” TV as a dumb monitor?We are very happy with our TV, because we can run it as a plain monitor no problem, but it could break.
Would it even be possible to run a new “smart” TV as a dumb monitor?
Never connecting the TV to the internet and never updating the firmware usually works. If they are determined to show you ads, they may not let you use the TV without an internet connection though. I would suggest that you avoid buying a roku TV.
Okay but they can also mesh the TVs with your neighbour’s tv of the same brand so that if your neighbour’s TV has internet, your TV can leapfrog onto his tv to download the ads
You’re hired!
Open the TV, find the antenna, desolder it and replace it with a 50 ohm resistor. Now the WiFI will no longer have enough range to connect to your neighbors.
Just because they patented it doesn’t mean it will happen. Sony patented this evil idea.
If McDonald’s needs a surefire way to make me not go to a McDonald’s ever again, that’s perfect.
We are not far from “please drink verification can”
error! user is attempting to steal lemmy premium™
If Sony patented this idea, does it mean nobody else can use it until it expires? Good guy Sony always looking out for us
I think you can still pay to license patented technology for commercial use if the patent holder is willing. Just because they haven’t used it yet doesn’t mean they won’t though!
I kind of feel like starting a non profit that solely creates patents for evil ideas with no intention of ever licensing them
Patent trollery, but white hat? I can get behind that
MCDONALD’S!
Roku is pretty great for what it is, but the day I see such an ad is the day it hits the bin. That would finally bother me into driving the TV with an actual PC.
Isn’t Netflix locked at 720 on pc? I can’t go without 4k hdr Netflix
It’s limited to 720 unless your entire playback system end to end is fully drm secured… this means hdmi certified devices only, single monitor, running unmodified, legit windows. It’s extremely restrictive and even the tiniest system change (like adding a second monitor, or using the wrong cable) almost always breaks it.
Streaming is a cancer.
I’m not sure. These old eyes can’t see the difference and I don’t own 4k hardware. It is possible that you need a locked down system for some content levels.
As a former Roku fan, forced arbitration or a brick was the breaking point. Roku can fuck off.
Forced arbitration is a cancer and should be illegal, but at least it’s useful and technically my 5 yo agreed to it, so how is this legal again?
Never give your TV wifi credentials so it can’t use the internet, then they have no mechanism to monetize ad impressions or spying on you.
Cool so what are some good Roku alternatives?
I run an LG OLED TV (disconnected from network), AppleTV, and my own media server. I haven’t seen an ad in my TV for years.
Get an A/V receiver, a computer monitor or dumb TV, and speakers. Then you can get a Roku streaming player and it cannot show you anything when you do not have its input selected on the receiver.
Even an inexpensive pair of bookshelf speakers placed on either side of the TV will sound better than built-in TV speakers. Add a center speaker and a subwoofer drastically improved sound.
Non-4k AV receivers are dirt cheap used.
Is nVidia Shield an alternative?
That’s what I’ve been using for years now. It’s great.
I blocked my TV from using WiFi, but there have been times I have need to unblock it (like using AirPlay or Google Cast), so it gets updates occasionally. I’m open to throwing my TV straight to the dump and buying another TV to avoid this at all costs.
Nothing, all TVs are crap.
The best options are usually buying large “monitors” or digital signage. However these both tend to be more expensive than a similar TV. Monitors also often lack a remote which may be valuable for a TV and digital signage may have less input ports than you may want.
I would love if a major manufacturer made a TV that just displayed what signals I put into it.
Right now the best option still seems to buy a Roku TV and never connect it to the internet. But some features will be disabled. For example Miracast doesn’t work for some explicitable reason until you connect it to the internet. (Then again it barely works anyways, so no major loss)
Right now the best option still seems to buy a Roku TV and never connect it to the internet.
No, your best option is to buy any other TV than a Roku TV, and not connect that TV to the internet.
I’ve always loved my Apple TVs.
Personally looking at dumb panels and building OSMC machines to run them.
A simple PC, you can also use it to browse, download stuff, Steam stream etc. The possibilities are endless
Any used office pc from Craiglist for <$200, wiped and reinstalled with linux… self contained mini PC NUC boxes are also a very good bang-for-buck these days
Used to recommend Roku to others. I will never buy anything from them or recommend them to anyone again.
Someday maybe boards will figure out that “business” people have no idea what they are doing.
To be fair, this is just a patent, not Roku saying they will do this. But if they do, then absolutely.
I don’t want my money used for shit like this so Roku and I are done regardless.of if they exercise this patent or not.
Stand up, raise your hands, and shout, “McDonald’s!”
They know what they’re doing! Maximizing share price for the next quarter while they jump ship… It’s legitimately disgusting.
I’ve always found their monetization strategy icky. Their remotes, with streaming service ads on them, always made me feel gross. Especially since those services change every couple years, and you get stuck with remotes plugging stupid services like Blockbuster and Redbox.
Boards only understand “line go up” or “line go down.” If something turns off a few weirdos like us but it lets them sell access to millions of eyeballs they’ll do it.
They’d step over their own dying mother to make a buck.
History is littered with companies that decided they should “milk” their customers instead of providing new and innovative products. They usually don’t last all that long, but you’re right that the current board members might not gaf about any kind of longer term existence.
That may have been true in the past, but we’re in a corporate fuedal system now, with a bunch of little fiefdoms we can’t escape ruled by people who wish they had the rizz of Henry VIII or Louis XVI
Damage private property, destroy the chains that bind us.
I mean, if she’s already dying, what’s the issue here? I’m losing money if I have to stop and call 911, when she has a perfectly good phone to do it herself.
That’s a fantastic way to guarantee my TV will not be connected to the internet
Get a CEC TV and a separate streaming box that supports that. Get a Shield and install an ad free launcher, or pick up an AppleTV.
